Dungeon Core Academy: Books 1-7 (A LitRPG Series) by Alex Oakchest (book suggestions txt) 📕

a heavy heart, that I must make a recommendation,” said Godwin. “We have the Seekers to think about, yes. But to my mind, we have brought an even greater danger to our own doorstep, and we have opened the door and invited it in. Once in our home, it has begun to terrorize us.”

Terrorize? I might be a dungeon core, but I mind my own business. All I cared about was killing heroes. And Seekers, since that was my job.

But now I heard murmurs of agreement that sounded like they came from all sides of the room. This wasn’t going well for me.

“My friends, my family. My fellow leaves, both longstanding and newly grown. I am a gnome who is here before you, admitting his faults and seeking to rectify them. Put simply; we will never be safe while the cores are here.

We must remove them. We must tear them from their dungeons and cast them out.”

A voice shouted now. “How can we ever be safe if they live, First-Leaf? Cores have wicked hearts. They will plot revenge.”

“Ah. I had hoped to avoid more bloodshed. They are conscious beings, after all. You make a good point, Second-Leaf Rushden. We must not just remove them, but destroy them. I can do that.

But mark my words; the cores are devious, clever, and dangerous. They will know of our intentions before we can get too close. We must gather in force and remove them. Bring them to me, and I will destroy them before your very eyes.”

“What about their traps?” shouted a woman.

“Galatee can command them to deactivate their traps. That small act of mercy is allowed to us, at any rate. We will not lose more lives destroying these foul beings.”

“Then why do we need a force?”

“Because,” said Godwin, “A first-leaf who makes a mistake and learns, is perhaps forgivable. One who refuses to accept his warning is no better than the cores themselves.”

I knew one thing then. Destroying me had always been Godwin’s purpose for the meeting. He had maneuvered his people so that one of them actually suggested it, but that had been his whole plan.

Why? That was what I didn’t understand. They had brought me here; I hadn’t asked to come. What did Godwin have against me? Had I accidentally killed his cat or something?

One thing I knew for sure; it wasn’t about the dead Rushden boy.

In fact, I was beginning to suspect that Godwin and his spells had played a part in the boy’s demise. It wasn’t a stretch to imagine that a mage could cast a spell that worked its way through the dungeon, without the mage himself having to move.

I might have my suspicions, but I wouldn’t know for sure. In any case, it didn’t matter now.

I needed to forget hows and whys. I needed to do what I did best.

Someone was coming to destroy me. They sure as hell weren’t heroes, but I would make sure they died like them.

Just to be clear, I don’t mean they will die honorably. I mean that I’ll slaughter the hell out of them.

CHAPTER 23

By the time First-Leaf Godwin reached his quarters, he felt like his head was going to explode. The pain was the worst he’d felt in decades. He staggered inside and shut the door. A scream built in his chest, but he held it in.

He began to whimper. He couldn’t help it, the pain was just too intense. His cat approached him, but he couldn’t stop to greet him. He staggered through the quarters and to his bedchamber.

There, he picked up one of his feathered pillows, put it to his face, and he finally let loose the shriek of pain.

The pillow absorbed the noise. Some leaked out, and his concerned cat leaped on the bed now, but Godwin carried on screaming until his lungs ached and he couldn’t even force a whimper from his throat.

Then he slumped onto the bed, exhausted.

How long would this go on for? It had been almost a year since he’d last partaken in mana from the spring. A year without it, and his body still cried out for it. As far as he knew he was the only adult who wasn’t drinking or bathing from the spring.

And yet, a full year had passed, and he missed it with an intensity he’d never felt about anything else. It shamed him to say that he didn’t even miss his dear wife this much. Logically, he did, but physically his body begged him for mana.

The worst thing was that without it, he felt himself dying. He’d taken too much of it over the years, and the effect was irreversible. It had extended his life beyond what should have been possible, and without his crutch, his life was slipping.

This was why they had to leave. The mana springs would be the end of them all if they stayed. If they left, they still had a chance.

The babes and children would learn to live without it. Small mercy at least that they weren’t given their first taste of mana until they reached adulthood. Even the third and fourth leaves hadn’t been on it long enough for an incurable addiction.

But Godwin? His life was gone. He only hoped he could give what little he had left to save his people. The only way to do that was to get far, far away from the mana springs.

He felt something furry settle on his hand, looking for warmth.

“We’re almost there,” said Godwin.

He heard a purr in response.

“If we destroy the cores, they will have no choice but to leave this place. I couldn’t persuade them to leave the springs behind, so I had to deceive them. I just have to hope that with the cores gone, they see how impossible it will be